mo' better beats

Rip It Up, Issue 225, 1 May 1996, Page 28

mo' better beats

LAD Ridin’ Low (Hollywood Records) If you like the title track (currently getting heaps of airplay on Mai FM and Max TV) you’ll love.the album. The Latino old school flava shines out on every track — you kinda imagine LAD just went out and made the sort of record their own hood wanted to hear. It’s hard at times, but life is also more than just gang banging,“and these guys know how to party. The album just bumps along, it’s funky, funky, funky. Singer Darvy Traylor (that old geezer in the vid’) really lifts their game, his voice is as smooth as old leather. Ten tracks in all, with a bonus remix of the title track; if you buy this album and aren’t satisfied send me your copy and I’ll give you a refund - it’s that good. Perfect for kickin’ back and chillin’.

VARIOUS ARTISTS In the Neighbourhood (Warner) On first glance this compilation album seems a little dated, but on closer inspection I think you’ll find it contains a treasure trove of kiwi hit singles that you meant to buy but didn’t. Excuse me, but where else can you get Dam Native, Headless Chickens, 3 the Hard Way, Annie Crummer, Emma Paki, OMC, Sisters Underground... blah... blah... all on one album? Eighteen songs by 18 different artists, all from NZ, all with that funk/rap/R&B/or soul flava. Check this oute, it’s excellent. J’SON J'son (Hollywood Records) ' Don’t be fooled by the short review, this is for a whole album. J’son has a great voice — honestly, this kid can siiiinnnngg. Funk/soul/R&B, he can do it all. Trouble is, as soon as his balls drop, he's gonna be down the road robbing the local Drycleaners. You see, J’son is just like Tevin Campbell — ie. a prepubescent black vocalist who makes prepubescent girls squeal, and post-adolescent women think: ‘Hmmm, I’d like to pinch those cheeks.’ The album is good — very much in the vein of his current radio hit 'Take a Look’ — I just worry about the boy’s future. Anyone heard from Tevin lately?

EUSEBE Do Something ’ ' , (EMI) Hey, nigger, get up off yo’ fat lazy butt and do something. Girlfriend, stop bitchin’ about how you deserve better and do something about it. After all that gangsta rap we’ve been getting for the last six years you may have noticed recently, the pendulum is starting to swing back. Very slowly, sure, but it's a start. Eusebe keep the lyrics positive, but they’re no fools either. On ‘Police’, they make it clear they’re from the hood; and with ‘Do Something’ and ‘Piece of the Pie’, they make it clear you shouldn’t let others stop

you getting what you want. And they don’t mean using an Uzi to do it! A good beat with good lyrics, I’ve probably made them sound more preachy than they actually are.

DENI HINES Imagination (Mushroom) Very smooth, but not too sweet. Hines sounds mighty fine indeed in this midtempo soul groove. There’s a very nice brass sound running across this track, and the bass guitar isn't too bad either. Recorded and mixed in London, this should get airplay everywhere.

PET SHOP BOYS Before (EMI) This four-track EP includes a remix of ‘lnto the Night’, which is basically just an instrumental, and makes the song sound like a rehash of their earlier hit ‘Money’. The PSB roots are firmly'grounded in Euro-house, but they shy away from the mindless/simple keyboard hook, and instead choose a much lusher, over-the-top orchestral score (but the keyboard hook is still there, underneath!). ‘The Truck Driver and His Mate’ is a pleasant diversion, with a much harder, ‘butch’er sound!

BANANARAMA Every Shade Of Blue (Festival) Like the PSB, Bananarama emerged in the mid-80s and had a truckload of mindless pop hits. Mindless, but great! They were lots of fun. We all danced, they were the sound of our mindless 80s generation. Now, 10 years later, the trio is down to a duo... with only one original member. They’ve kind of lost the plot. A bit like the 80s generation, I suppose. This song works best when the remixers move in, reduce the girls to backing vocalists, and let the dancebeat take over.

D'ANGELO Lady (EMI) A lot of people have actually asked me if the two of us are related, and I have to admit: yes, he’s my brother (he ain’t heavy, I am). But I would never let that influence my review ... besides, we were seperated at birth and I hardly know him. From his album Brown Sugar, this is remixed by DJ Premier and features AZ on guest vocals. This song'gives some indication of the depth of talent that D’Angelo possesses, and I get the feeling he could become a long term prospect in the music industry (as opposed to those flash in the pans you never hear from again, after they’ve had their ‘big’ year).

MAI I Y J RUYS featuring Lole I Love Everything About You (EMI) Following on from his last hit ‘Cruisin’’, (a cover of the Smokey Robinson classic — who was the moron who said it was by Marvin Gaye?), Ruys decides to release another coyer version, this one originally by Stevie Wonder (no dis here, Ruys has written plenty of hits himself)'. He’s joined by local vocalist Lole, who has her own single out at the moment. Together the

two are sublime, as is the production by Mark Tierney. This has hit written all over it, it’s great. The only (minor) fault is the arrangement of one vocal line — it reminds me of Neil Sedaka in ‘Calendar Girl’!

BEL CANTO We’ve Got to Work it Out (Festival) This is weird shit, the brother’s been smoking some strange blunts. Details are scant, but I think it’s Italian Euro-house. A great piano riff with a driving beat, and then some wacked-out opera baritone (or is that tenor?) laid over the top. A variety of mixes, ranging from the Sleaze Sister to Gregorio,-with a jungle mix from the Booyaka Crew thrown in for good measure. It grows on you (the song) and 1 quite like it a lot.

EUROGROOVE Move Your Body (Festival) Jeez, how many songs have had this title? But, hey, I guess it’s not about lyrics really, is it? It's about dancing, and this groove should do the trick. It doesn’t hurt when you've got both Todd Terry and the Happy Clappers kickin’ in on the remix front either. This is hardcore pop Eurohouse (if you can figure that out!), with just a touch of old school Black Box lingering in the background. A definite hit for most club floors.

NICK D’ANGELO